Transitions from university study to graduate work in new industries such as information technology (IT) are not well understood. As the IT industry is a significant recruiter of graduates and an important component of the UK economy, the transition into the IT profession needs to be understood better. In addition, understanding the transition into IT work may contribute to a broader understanding of transitions in the new industries more generally. We focus on three cases selected from a broader longitudinal project and take as our starting point graduates' perspectives on their transitions. We use Bourdieu's conceptions of field, habitus and capital to move beyond existing policy discourses which tend to concentrate exclusively on the qualities of graduates. Specifically, we argue that, to understand transitions we need to focus on the work and the organisational context (field), the habitus of the individual making the transition, and the resources (capital) that individuals may deploy. That is, individual transitions are better understood by considering field, habitus and capital and the interactions between them.The transition from university study into graduate work is not yet well understood (Dahlgren et al. 2006;Johnston 2003), particularly in relation to specific professions and/or industries. The policy discourse often adopts a 'learning equals earning' Vocations and Learning (2011) 4:133-150

Assessment and feedback are interrelated challenges for higher education, being perceived as key facets of the quality assurance of degrees, and yet commonly found to be sources of dissatisfaction for students. We performed a thematic analysis on the freetext comments of the National Student Survey for a large, Scottish, Russell Group university and found recurring themes of alienation versus belonging in how the students discussed assessment. We used Social Identity Theory to explore these themes and concluded that assessment can act as a barrier between staff and students, especially where students are not given effective feedback. When students feel their assessment excludes them from a group (such as their discipline), they express dissatisfaction and frustration. This study adds to the growing body of work encouraging a dialogic approach to ensure students are able to make the best use of feedback and suggests it may also have the encouraging side-effect of improving student satisfaction.

Balancing supportive relationships and developing independence: An activity theory approach to understanding feedback in context for Master's students.

This article outlines strategies designed to meet the challenge of reporting on the influence of academic development work to different stakeholders. The broad scope of the work is illustrated by examples of initiatives at sector, institution, programme and practice levels. The examples demonstrate how the aims and approaches of academic development have evolved in recent years and why evaluating the expanded range of activities is challenging. This ‘evaluation challenge’ delays growth of a body of knowledge and gives rise to an ever-present risk of removal or restructure facing academic development centres in a rapidly changing higher education sector. The challenge should, therefore, be addressed as a matter of the highest priority.